Battle of the Salnitsa River (1111)
| map_type = | map_relief = | latitude = | longitude = | map_size = | map_marksize = | map_caption = | map_label = | territory = | result = Total defeat of the Polovtsians | status = | combatants_header = | combatant1 = Grand Principality of Kiev Principality of Chernigov Principality of Pereyaslavl | combatant2 = | combatant3 = | commander1 = Svyatopolk Izyaslavich Davyd Svyatoslavich Vladimir Monomakh | commander2 = | commander3 = | units1 = | units2 = | units3 = | strength1 = About 30 thousand | strength2 = | strength3 = | casualties1 = | casualties2 = | casualties3 = | notes = | campaignbox = }} The Battle of the Salnitsa is the main battle in the final phase of the great campaign of the South Russian princes against the Polovtsians in March 1111. In this battle, the Polovtsian army was utterly defeated by the Russian princes, led by the Grand Prince of Kiev Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, the Prince of Chernigov Davyd Svyatoslavich and Prince of Pereyaslavl Vladimir Monomakh Background In 1103, the Russian princes after the Council of Dolob held the first-ever campaign against the Polovtsians in the steppes, in 1107 they crushed Bonyak and Sharukhan near Lubin on Sula, after which they did not meet with news. In 1109, the Kiev voivod Dmitry Ivorovich freely ruined the Polovtsian nomads near the Donets River, who were under the rule of the Sharukhan's sons, Syrchan and Atrak . The battle On February 26, 1111 (2nd Resurrection of Great Lent), the Russian army, led by a coalition of princes (Svyatopolk Izyaslavich with has son Yaroslav, Davyd with son, Vladimir and his sons), marched to the town of Sharukhan, accompanied by priests with crosses singing chants (in In this connection, the researchers Боханов А.Н., Горинов М.М. История России с древнейших времен до конца XX векаРыбаков Б. А. Рождение Руси say that the campaign was in the nature of the cross ). The place where the Russian army gathered was Dolobesk Lake. His route crossed the rivers Sula (5th day), Khorol (6th day), Psyol (7th day), Golty, Vorskla (10th day), after which they reached the banks of the Donets (23rd th day). Sharukhan surrendered without a fight on the 5th day of the siege. It is noteworthy that the townspeople offered the winners fish and wine, which characterizes the settled life of its inhabitants. In parallel, the Russian burned Sugrov was burned. Both cities were named after the Khans, who were defeated in the Battle of the Sula River (1107) (Sharukhan fled and Sugrov was captured). On March 24, the first fierce battle took place near the Donets, in which the Russian soldiers gained the upper hand. On the morning of March 27 Полное собрание русских летописей. Т. 2. Ипатьевская летопись. - Moscow, 1998. - Стб. 268 (третья строка сверху). at the full moon on the Salnitsa River, the second major battle began. The Polovtsians had such a numerical superiority that the Russian troops were surrounded, but the Polovtsians did not withstand their coordinated direct strike. The Russians made a large number of prisoners and loot. Consequences After 1111, the Polovtsians only once approached the borders of Russia, in the year of Svyatopolk's death (1113), but reconciled with Vladimir who took the throne. In 1116, Yaropolk Vladimirovich with Kiev regiments and Davyd's son Vsevolod Davydovich again invaded the Polovtsian steppes in the upper reaches of the Donets and took three cities. After that, 45,000 Polovtsians with Khan Atrak went to the service of the Georgian king David the Builder, and when a few years later Monomakh sent Yaropolk to the Dono against the Polovtsians, he did not find them there. Sources Brief news about the Battle of the Salnitsa River is in many Russian chronicles. However, the only source containing a detailed account of the battle is the Ipatiev Chronicle Полное собрание русских летописей. Т. 2. Ипатьевская летопись. - Moscow, 1998. - Стб. 264-273 (летописная статья 6619 года).. Notes References * Каргалов В. В. «Исторические портреты: Святослав, Дмитрий Донской, Михаил Скопин-Шуйский.» М.: ООО «Издательство Астрель»: ООО «Издательство АСТ»: ООО «Транзиткнига», 2004. — 507 с * Шефов Н. А. "Самые знаменитые войны и битвы России. -М.: Вече, 2000. — 528с. Salnitsa Salnitsa Salnitsa Category:Battles involving the Cumans Category:Conflicts in 1111